


Absolution

by Pininfarina



Series: Birds of a feather [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, F/M, Rival Relationship, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 18:35:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7856539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pininfarina/pseuds/Pininfarina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winter confronts Qrow after their skirmish in the courtyard of Beacon Academy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Absolution

“Qrow!” A stinging slap jerked Qrow out of his half-drunken slump. He rubbed the back of his head and turned crimson eyes upon the body attached to the offending hand. Winter Schnee stood before him, looking down her nose in disgust.

“Oh, hey Ice Queen. How’s things? Would you be so kind as to make some ice for my drink? It’s too warm for my taste.” A sideways smirk touched Qrow’s lips as Winter’s eyes narrowed.

“Your stunt today will not be forgotten. You destroyed Atlas military property. Do not expect a free pass just because you are Ozpin’s favorite pet.” This struck a nerve; Qrow stood swiftly, impressively steady given the amount of alcohol he had consumed.

“Listen here, princess, because I will say this once and once only. I am not a pet. I am a professional huntsman entrusted with highly classified information.” Qrow leaned in close, his whiskey breath hot on Winter’s face, eyes hard. “Trust me Schnee, your position pales in comparison to mine. You would shake in those fancy boots of yours if you knew the things I know. I’ve been working these jobs since you were in diapers. Do not mistake your title for your significance.” With that, Qrow sat back down and sipped his drink, ignoring his companion so thoroughly that she may as well have been thin air.

Not to be disregarded, Winter circled the table until she stood across from him and slammed her palm on the rough wood. When he glanced up, she bent down until she was nearly nose-to-nose with him.

“I don’t care,” she snarled, “how special you think you are. You are childish, dimwitted, and immature. You may have years on me, but you will never be a respectable man. Do not think that I will allow this transgression to slide.”

Qrow snorted. “Ironwood is on Ozpin’s side. We may have our disagreements but Jimmy is fully aware that I am his superior. I’m half the reason the kingdoms still exist. If you think that pursuing me for a crime against Atlas will get you anywhere, think again.” Qrow pushed his chair back, the legs grating on the wooden floor, and sipped his whiskey again.

Winter blinked in confusion, her annoyance ebbing. “What happened to your little speech about General Ironwood turning his back on Ozpin?”

Qrow sneered, plainly enjoying that Winter was out of the know. “Oh, that? We cleared that up. Turns out Jimmy’s just dumber than he looks.”

Winter bristled but ultimately ignored the jab at the general. “So you destroyed military property and provoked an Atlesian Special Operative for nothing, then.” Qrow sniggered and slouched over the table, a drunk grin flashing white teeth.

“I wouldn’t say it was for nothing.” Winter raised a sharp, inquiring eyebrow, and he elaborated: “I got to tango with the Ice Queen herself. I’ve been wanting to do that. Although”—he laughed—“I was picturing it a little differently than a sword fight. Still, a man takes what he can get.”

Winter’s cheeks reddened, her lips twisting into an ugly scowl. “You’re despicable, Qrow.”

Qrow nodded in acknowledgement. “And yourself, Schnee.”

 

With the conversation dead, Winter shifted in her chair, unsure of what to do next. Qrow tossed back his whiskey and then walked away wordlessly. Winter stood as well, but before she could finish smoothing her uniform, Qrow was back. He placed a glass of gin forcefully in front of her, smirking when she fixed him with an annoyed scowl.

“Come on, Schnee. Loosen up. You’ve had a long day.” He seemed sincere, and Winter felt an inexplicable urge to sit and have a drink. There was just one problem.

“I appreciate the gesture, Qrow, but I don’t drink.” The smirk slipped off Qrow’s face, replaced by something more genuine.

“Do you not like gin? I can get you something else. You’re so frigid, I figured a nice strong spirit would do you right.” By the end of his sentence, the gloating smile was back on his lips.

“You misunderstand. I do not drink alcohol at all. And I do not deign to start in this pub, with this company.” For some reason, Winter felt like her words weren’t entirely true, however sharply they crossed her tongue. Something about this disheveled excuse for a huntsman made her want to sit and drink away her stress for a little while. Perhaps it was the ease with which he seemed to do it, or perhaps his alcoholic breath was potent enough to cloud her judgment.

“You wound me, Winter.” She jolted slightly when he said her first name. It slipped from between his lips perfectly, naturally, like it had always belonged in his lungs. Something in her chest shifted. She picked up the gin and raised the glass to her lips, inhaling the scent of juniper.

“You’re supposed to take it fast. Knock it back.”

Winter looked at him incredulously. “What is the point of drinking it if you barely taste it?”

Qrow chuckled. “Oh, you’ll taste it. Trust me.” Winter looked down at the glass in her hand, the liquid taunting her for her hesitance. Steeling herself, she tipped her head back and threw the drink into her mouth. The burning was incredibly unpleasant. Winter sputtered and coughed, reaching for something to wash it down and coming up wanting. Her entire mouth and throat were on fire, and the dry taste of spruce made her mouth feel disgusting. Across from her, Qrow was cackling.

“Oh man I can’t believe you actually did that. Only an idiot takes gin like a shot. You should see your face right now.” Winter was coughing too much to answer him, but even if she could have spoken, he wasn’t there to listen.

He returned a moment later with a tall glass of water. His expression changed from mirth to concern as she snatched it from him and drank the entire thing. She had tears trailing from the corners of her eyes, and her face was flushed from coughing.

“You really weren’t kidding about not drinking were you kiddo?” Winter wiped her eyes and glared at him.

“Do not call me that. And no, why would I joke about such a thing?”

“I dunno, maybe as an excuse to avoid sitting here with me. Not sure why you’d want to avoid me though.” Winter ignored the subsequent inappropriate gesture he made and shook her head.

“My father showed me how ugly alcohol makes people. I have no interest in finding out how reckless being drunk really feels.”

Qrow whistled softly. “Daddy issues, eh? I guess I’m not too surprised. Something had to turn a fine lady like yourself into a frigid bitch and I’m sure Papa Schnee gets pretty stressed running that big old company.” When she didn’t respond, he filled the silence. “If you really had no interest in getting drunk, you wouldn’t be sitting here, coughing up a lung after throwing back a double shot of gin.”

Winter had no explanation for this. Instead she merely gave him a scorching look to cover up the shame already growing in her chest.

Unconcerned with her annoyance, Qrow continued. “So tell me Schnee, why are you sitting here in a bar with what you so generously described as a dimwitted drunkard, drinking gin and telling me about your daddy issues?”

Winter stood abruptly and headed for the exit. Qrow hurriedly followed her to the door. He put a strong hand on her shoulder before she could wrench it open.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up there Ice Queen. If you don’t want me asking the hard questions I will gladly zip my lip. We can just glare at each other from across the table to cover up the sexual tension while you complain about how much you hate me.” His words were ridiculous, and Winter’s face was getting red again, but his expression was sincere. “Come sit with me and have a few drinks or at least something to eat. I’ll pay.”

“I don’t need you to pay for my meals. I have more money in pocket change than you’ve earned in your entire life.” But still, Winter turned away from the door and allowed Qrow to lead her back to their table, pulling her gloves off and stuffing them in her back pocket.

 

* * *

 

Winter’s head was fuzzy. She had finished three more drinks and was on her fourth, something strong mixed with fruit juice. She didn’t know what it was but she didn’t care. Across from her, Qrow was leaned back in his chair, a fresh glass of whiskey held loosely in his hand. They had not spoken for quite some time. Winter broke the silence.

“This is not what I expected it to feel like.”

Qrow looked up from his glass. “What, being drunk?” Winter stared at him in confusion.

“Spending time with you.” She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The alcohol really was getting to her head.

Something like a victorious smile quirked Qrow’s lips, and he leaned forward, ruby eyes glimmering mischievously.

“And what does it feel like, Winter?” She shivered slightly. There it was again, her first name falling past his teeth like it had made a home in his chest. She willed herself to focus on constructing an intelligent response.

“It feels like…like I’ve finally come back from a long mission in the field. Like when you get home and you get to shower and sleep in your own bed. Relaxing, I guess.”

Qrow’s eyes widened in shock, but he covered this with a laugh. “You really are drunk.”

Winter looked offended. “Qrow I am being serious. Do not mock me.”

“Ah I see you can still sense when you’re the butt of a joke. That just means you need more liquor.” He stood to go to the bar but Winter grabbed his wrist.

“No!” She spoke more aggressively than intended. “I-I don’t need another drink. I’m…can we leave? I’m getting uncomfortable being here.” There was a pleading edge in her voice, something that caught Qrow’s attention.

“Sure, we can go. Anyplace in mind?” Winter immediately went scarlet, and Qrow realized what she was thinking. “You have got to be kidding me,” he muttered to himself.

“I kind of just want to lie down. I’m feeling a bit dizzy. Are there any places to stay nearby? I hardly think it would be appropriate to return to my ship in this condition.”

Qrow proceeded carefully, hoping that he wouldn’t send the wrong impression. “I have a room booked right down the street. You can sleep there tonight. I don’t mind taking the couch.” His cautious wording did the trick; Winter bobbed her head in assent and stood shakily to follow him out the door.

 

* * *

 

“So here’s the room. Nothing fancy. The bathroom is near the door where we came in. Feel free to use my soap if you want to shower or something.” Qrow scratched his head to distract himself from how odd this situation had become.

“Thank you, Qrow. I appreciate your…hospitality.”

“Not a problem, Ice Queen.”

For a moment the two of them stood facing each other in silence, the only light in the room coming from the hallway.

“Er, okay well I’m going to go to sleep, then,” Qrow finally said. Winter took a step closer.

“You can stay if you want,” she mumbled, her eyes cast to the floor and her cheeks dusted with color.

“Pardon?”

In response, Winter closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips into his. Qrow kissed her back hesitantly. She tasted like alcohol and something else. After a moment, she pulled away, just barely, and sighed lovingly into the narrow gap between their lips.

Slowly, they made eye contact. Deep crimson eyes met brilliant blue. And then Winter was kissing him again, forcefully this time. Her nails scraped from his neck to his chest, tugging at the buttons of his shirt, searching for skin. He wrapped one arm around her slight waist, holding her face gently with his other hand.

Winter’s fingers finally found their way around Qrow’s buttons, and she pulled the shirt open, pressing her fingers to his muscled chest, grazing her palms over his skin, savoring the heat that radiated from his body. He moaned slightly when her fingertips trailed across his collarbone, and he put both hands on her hips, pulling her closer. She inhaled sharply at the sudden gesture, heat blossoming in her lower stomach.

Qrow spun around with her in his grip, pushing her into the wall next to the door. His hands fumbled with the clasp of her jacket, pulling the irritating garment off her shoulders and discarding it somewhere to his left. His lips never left hers as he unbuttoned her blue vest, yanking it open and pushing her undershirt up before finally slipping his hands across her exposed stomach. She shuddered at the contact and twined her fingers in the hair at the back of his head, tugging it roughly and pushing his face down, away from hers. He obliged happily, his teeth grazing across her neck, thankful for the pins holding her hair in place.

Qrow kissed her exposed skin, nibbling and sucking just enough to leave a bruise. She moaned loudly when he bit down on the hollow of her neck, raking his teeth across her delicate skin. Her breath began to come in ragged gasps when he slipped his hand between her thighs, his mouth working hard to leave as many marks scattered across her neck and collarbones as he could.

“Please…” she whined breathlessly. Qrow paused and looked at her. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her expression slightly pained.

“Please what,” he growled, wanting to hear her say it.

“Please can we…I-I want this. I want _you._ Please.” Her voice was barely a whisper, sounding torn between desire and humiliation. When he didn’t respond, she opened her eyes and looked at him questioningly, her chest still heaving slightly. He contemplated her for a moment.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes. Completely.” Her voice was strained and rougher than usual.

“May I ask you a question first?” Winter gazed at him, waiting, looking impatient and nervous and uncomfortable all at the same time. “Have you ever been with anyone like this before?”

Winter looked away quickly, the color flooding her cheeks visible even in the dim light, and closed her eyes. “No. This isn’t something I make a habit out of.”

“Then are you sure you want me to be your first? Like, are you really sure?” Winter looked back at him, her expression growing clearer.

“I’m sure.”

“Okay.”

 

Qrow led Winter towards the bed, where he pulled off the remainder of his clothing while she struggled out of her boots and chaps and then shrugged off her vest. Before she could remove any more clothing, he was behind her, pressed against her back with his hand slipping down the inner curve of her hip, pausing only to unbutton her pants. She leaned her head back against his shoulder and he pressed a kiss into her temple as he ghosted his fingers over the seam of her panties. His other hand skimmed up her hip, grazing over her ribcage and ending on her breast. He gripped her roughly and she grew breathless again, struggling not to cry out from how loudly her body was screaming at her to take everything from him.

When she could tolerate the teasing no longer, Winter spun around and tugged him onto the bed, kissing him fiercely, relishing in the feeling of his bare abdomen pressing into hers. A few moments later and her pants were bunched on the floor, her undershirt tugged the rest of the way over her head and tangled into the sheets. She pulled the pins from her hair before lying flat on the bed, Qrow still kissing her sweetly, his hands still in places nobody had ever touched her before. A deep, almost itchy pressure was blossoming in her lower abdomen, begging for attention.

“Please…”

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” he responded coyly as he slid his palm over the lowest part of her stomach, fingers trailing towards her panties.

“P-please, touch me,” she gasped, abandoning all pretense of dignity.

Qrow’s fingers twined around her panties, pulling them down her thighs and leaving her entirely exposed. His hand hovered briefly, teasingly, before he trailed his fingertips across her sensitive folds, reveling in the surprised and pleasured moan that escaped Winter’s throat, and the warm wetness waiting for him. One of her hands found his muscled back, scraping harshly across his skin. He let out a growling moan, trying to focus on Winter instead of the things his own body was telling him.

As he worked, her body seized in various stages of pleasure, her nails all but breaking his skin as she dug them into his back. She was breathless, entirely out of control, and utterly beautiful like this. Qrow began to feel himself losing composure, and he knew that he wanted to be even closer to her. He grazed his teeth up her jaw and to her ear.

“Do you want me to go in?” She shuddered at his words, whining her affirmation in the absence of the ability to speak.

He pulled her legs wider, moving between them and slipping one hand to support her lower back. She watched him, bottom lip caught in her teeth, her blue eyes full of longing. Qrow watched her expression carefully as he eased inside. A brief flash of pain crossed her face before disappearing into shock.

“Oh…” she murmured. “Oh! This is…oh.”

Satisfied that she wasn’t in any pain, Qrow began to move, pushing himself slowly against her hips and listening for any indication that she wanted to stop. After a few hesitant strokes, she began to push back against him, her breathing growing steadily louder. Her slim legs wrapped around his waist, forcing him closer, limiting the distance he could pull away, insistent that he thrust deeper.

Qrow kept one hand on her back, the other laid passively on her waist as he pushed deeper and faster, Winter’s hips bucking in an erratic fashion as she tried to reconcile with the pleasure. Her noises lost coherence and became a string of curses punctuated by moans, her body struggling to maintain a rhythm as she became more flustered by the pleasure. When her moaning reached a fever pitch, her body racked with tremors, Qrow roughly grabbed her hips, forcing them to be still, knowing that squirming was a distraction that would only delay orgasm. And he couldn’t afford for her body to delay, because he was dangerously close to his own climax.

“Qrow, I-I…ah! Oh my—f-fuck! Fuck!” She was hitting her peak, so Qrow slid his hand to her inner hip and began stroking her with his thumb, adding extra pressure in all the right places. She let out a long, drawn out cry, her muscles tensing, her thighs clenching down, holding Qrow inside while she came. The sensation of her tightening around him, along with the noises she was making, was enough to send Qrow over the edge. He felt a moan rip from his throat as he came, and then he was out, pressing himself against her and feeling her muscles trembling. He kissed her roughly at first, then softly, sweetly.

After several minutes, she turned her face slightly to break the kiss, and looked him with an entirely unfathomable expression.

“Qrow,” she breathed. She traced her fingertips down his jaw.

“Yes?”

A pause.

“Say my name.” Her eyes were shining with something inexplicable. Qrow’s mouth twisted into a small smile.

“Winter,” he murmured. She closed her eyes and buried her face in his neck, wrapping her legs around his waist and pulling him as close as she could. After a few moments, she pulled away to breathe, and there were tears streaking down her cheeks.

“Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> So I've never written anything remotely smutty before so I have no idea if this is actually good or not. It's harder than I thought it would be to write a sex scene. I have never written a het ship and I'm a lesbian so I have no experience either. .-.  
> I know Qrowin/Snowbird isn't the most popular ship in the show but they're one of my OTPs so I felt like I had to get this out. I always picture Qrow as being an asshole on the streets and a sweetheart in the sheets. That's just my take though.  
> Any comments or thoughts are appreciated.


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